The world has been celebrating International Women’s Day (IWD) on March 8 since 1911, and it’s been recognised by the United Nations since 1975 as a global day to celebrate the social, economic, cultural, and political achievements of women.
Each year on March 8, Commercial Interior Design shines the spotlight on the women making their mark on the Middle East Design Industry. Here, we’ve compiled all the latest stories, interviews and thought pieces that celebrate women in design across the region.
Women of Impact
It’s an easy task to write a list of talented female designers working across the Middle East, given just how many talented females excel in the industry. This year we’ve shifted the spotlight to celebrate the women making an impact in more unexpected ways.
From media and marketing professionals who have amplified the reach of our top design firms, to HR and recruitment specialists who can be credited with launching the career path of many. You’ll find business leaders who have doubled, often tripled, the annual revenue of big-name firms and those forging a more sustainably-designed future have also been included.
Call for change: Five ways the Middle East design industry needs to improve
While compiling the Women of Impact feature, we asked some of the industry’s most influential figures what changes they’d like to see this year, and beyond. Here, we share the most common answers from workplace flexibility to authentic design.
Five minutes with Laila Al Yousuf, design director of SAY Studio
Emirati American Laila Al-Yousuf is the design director of SAY Studio, where she has led her team to deliver prestigious projects across the region. As a LEED AP, she is also passionate about sustainability and wellness in design. She’s one of the most successful and influential designers in the region, and here we chat with Al Yousuf to learn more about her design journey, what drives her success and her career highlights. We spoke to Al Yousuf to discover what drivers her, what she’s most proud and what she loves about design.
The Women behind Women in Design
In the weeks leading up to IWD, CID mini-series The Women Behind Women in Design, we shift the spotlight once again onto some of the brilliant women that the design industry couldn’t function without.
Acclaimed interior designer Pallavi Dean is no stranger to the camera or the microphone, having given award acceptance speeches, multiple interviews and several television appearances. But in our first of three instalments, Dean is on the other side of the story as she interviews Kathryn Athreya, managing director at Roar Design, a firm Dean founded in 2013.
As part of the series, Kristina Zanic interviewed Fathima Rizana, operations director at Kristina Zanic Consultants, and Leali Ezzat, founder of ELE Interiors interviewed the company’s general manager Kerry Muprhy.
Expert Insight: Reimagining Art Consultancy for the Hospitality Sector
Rachael Brown is the co-founder and creative director of Dubai-based arts consultancy Capsule Arts. Here, she shares her thoughts on why the hospitality design sector needs a new approach to art consultancy.
Art has all too often been overlooked, but as the region begins to understand how crucial art is to the ambience and identity of a space, our time is coming. It’s not just about filling a wall; it’s about telling a story, creating an experience, and leaving a lasting impression.
Expert Insight: The critical alliance between design and fit-out
Ahead of the annual CID Fit-Out Firm Power List reveal in April, Commercial Interior Design invited Riham Farajy, Senior Project Director at DTK Studio, to share her thoughts on the essential partnership between fit-out and design.
“The quest for the ideal fit-out partner parallels the search for the missing piece in a complex puzzle,” she says. “In my role as the senior project director at DTK Studio, my journey alongside David T’Kint has bestowed profound insights. I’ve come to recognize the critical importance of aligning with the right fit-out contractor for each project and understanding key factors pivotal to delivering the interior design intent optimally.”